DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 8/4/2026 has been entered.
Claim Status
No claims are amended.
No claims are canceled.
Claim 21 is newly added.
Claims 1-21 are presented for examination.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed in the amendment filed on 8/4/2026 have been fully considered but they are moot in view of new grounds of rejection.
Regarding applicant’s argument (Remarks Page 9), where applicant argues in regard to claim8 and 17, that “Claim 8 contains additional elements that are neither disclosed nor suggested by Kafle, Guo, or Jung. Claim 8 recites, in relevant part, "wherein the signal is received from a second computing device, and the computing system transmits the identification messages for a predetermined time period." As stated in the Specification, to conserve network bandwidth in large local networks, computing systems remain in a default mode where status broadcasting is disabled. Specification, par [0028]. Upon receiving a signal from a second computing device (e.g., a backend administration server, such as a hotel management server sending a signal upon guest check-in), the system temporarily enables its mode to transmit identification messages for a discrete, predetermined time period (e.g., 10 minutes) before returning to the disabled default state,. Id., [0029].
The Office Action relies on Jung for allegedly teaching that the signal is received from a second computing device and that identification messages are transmitted for a predetermined time period. Specifically, the Examiner cites paragraph [0128] of Jung for the proposition that a "master device transmits discovery beacon for period from 50 time units to 200 time units" and paragraph [0159] for exchanging signals. Jung. Pars. [0128], [0158]. This rejection mischaracterizes Jung and fails to teach the above limitations. Jung merely describes standard frame timing within a Wi-Fi Neighbor Awareness Network (NAN) cluster, where a master device transmits discovery beacons at recurring periodic intervals (e.g., every 50 to 200 time units) to maintain cluster synchronization. First, the discovery beacons of Jung are transmitted by a central system to other devices on the network on a regular schedule. Second, the discovery beacons are continuously recurring, internal cluster timing invitations. By contrast, the identification messages are not sent on an interval but only in response to the signal; sending the identification messages out on a recurring schedule would be counter to the point of the solution provided by the pending claims.”
In response, the examiner respectfully points out that applicant provided example from specification such as “the system temporarily enables its mode to transmit identification messages for a discrete, predetermined time period (e.g., 10 minutes) before returning to the disabled default state” is not reflected in claim language. Although the claims are interpreted in light of the specification, limitations from the specification are not read into the claims. See In re Van Geuns, 988 F.2d 1181, 26 USPQ2d 1057 (Fed. Cir. 1993). Claim language does not limit that reoccurring sending discover beacon or identification message.
In that case, Jung in Par. 0159 discloses, the electronic device broadcasts signals (e.g., discovery beacons) for supporting the discovery of other electronic devices according to a certain period (e.g., 100 ms). In addition, the electronic device may scan in the section of a constant time length (e.g., 110 to 120 ms) every certain periods (e.g., about 10 seconds) to receive signals (e.g., discovery beacons) broadcast by the other electronic devices. The electronic device may exchange synchronization beacons and service data frames with the other electronic devices in the cluster through the DW. Therefore, Jung teaches that, signal is received from another computer device in cluster, discovery beacon (i.e. transmitting identification message) is transmitted for certain predetermined duration such as time length of 110 to 120 ms every.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102 of this title, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10 and 19 are rejected under U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kafle et al. (US 20150172757), in view of Fu et al. (US 20230354144).
Regarding claim 1, Kafle discloses, a method, comprising:
receiving, by a computing system, a signal indicating a requested user device connection, the computing system connected to a first network (Par. 0146-0149, fig. 10A, Source 1000 (i.e. a user device) and master sink (i.e. a computing system) connection setup is completed, par. 0032, discloses communication over Wi-Fi or wireless LAN);
in response to the signal indicating the requested user device connection: enabling, by the computing system (Par. 0151-0152, source 100 and master sink temporarily stop communication and proceed to step 1068, At steps 1068 and 1069, the master sink 1010 may initiate a continuing discovery phase with dependent sinks 1020 (in this example, with a dependent sink 1020A and a dependent sink 1020B), i.e. after connection setup request is completed from source device, master goes in to next mode of discovery phase), a mode characterized by:
generating, by the computing system, an identification message comprising a status of the computing system and an identifier of the computing system (Par. 0152, At steps 1068 and 1069, the master sink 1010 may initiate a continuing discovery phase with dependent sinks 1020 (in this example, with a dependent sink 1020A and a dependent sink 1020B). Discovery information exchanged during the discovery phase may include group session management information and device capability information, i.e. message that to be sent as discovery message to other sinks or devices includes, device capabilities (i.e. a status of the computing system) master sink 1010 may send group invitation messages to the dependent sinks 1020 via service discovery. The group invitation messages may include the multimedia format used for the multimedia streaming in the current Wi-Fi Display group session. The group invitation messages may also include the IP address and port number (i.e. identifier) for the RTP/UDP packets that the sink devices may receive from the source 1000. The exchange of information during the continuing discovery phase may occur one sink at a time, for example, the master sink 1010 may exchange discovery information with the dependent sink 1020A (as in step 1068) and then exchange discovery information with the dependent sink 1020B);
transmitting, by the computing system, the identification message to a computing device connected to the first network (Par. 0152, At steps 1068 and 1069, the master sink 1010 may initiate a continuing discovery phase with dependent sinks 1020 (in this example, with a dependent sink 1020A and a dependent sink 1020B). Discovery information exchanged during the discovery phase may include group session management information and device capability information, i.e. message that to be sent as discovery message to other sinks or devices includes, device capabilities (i.e. a status of the computing system) master sink 1010 may send group invitation messages to the dependent sinks 1020 via service discovery); and
receiving, by the computing system, a list of the other active computing systems connected to the first network (Par. 0153, steps 1070 and 1071, the master sink 1010 may send an RTSP announcement to the dependent sinks 1020 (here, dependent sinks 1020A and 1020B). The announcement may include an invitation for the dependent sinks 1020 to join the group session or to join a request/response process, i.e. response from other sinks such as 1020A and 1020B, makes the list of other devices that are connected to network that joins group by sending response).
Kafle does not disclose, the computing device configured as a central source comprising a list of other active computing systems connected to the first network; and
receiving, by the computing system and from the computing device, the list of the other active computing systems connected to the first network.
Fu discloses, the computing device configured as a central source comprising a list of other active computing systems connected to the first network (Par. 0011, Each relay UE maintains a list of neighbor UEs 30 it can reach and periodically broadcasts an announcement to indicate its availability for relaying communications. The announcement includes an indication (e.g., the reachable neighbor list) of other UEs 30 that the announcing UE can reach. When a UE within reach of the relay UE receives the broadcast announcement, it can decide whether it wants to use the relay UE to relay D2D communications. If so, the receiving UE stores a copy of the reachable neighbor list for the relay in its local memory and sends a relay request to the relay UE. i.e. relay UE being central source that maintains list of other active UEs on network. Par. 0062, fig.1, plurality of UEs (i.e. computing system) are connected to core network); and
receiving, by the computing system and from the computing device, the list of the other active computing systems connected to the first network (Par. 0011, Each relay UE maintains a list of neighbor UEs 30 it can reach and periodically broadcasts an announcement to indicate its availability for relaying communications. The announcement includes an indication (e.g., the reachable neighbor list) of other UEs 30 that the announcing UE can reach. When a UE within reach of the relay UE receives the broadcast announcement, it can decide whether it wants to use the relay UE to relay D2D communications. If so, the receiving UE stores a copy of the reachable neighbor list for the relay in its local memory and sends a relay request to the relay UE. i.e. relay UE being central source that broadcast the list of other UEs on network to other UEs, UE (i.e. computing system) receives list of other UEs from relay UE that all UE are connected to network as shown fig. 1).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify Kafle by teaching of the computing device configured as a central source comprising a list of other active computing systems connected to the first network and receiving, by the computing system and from the computing device, the list of the other active computing systems connected to the first network, as taught by Fu, for other computing device on network to use the received list of remote devices on network without need to initiate discovery of other devices, as disclosed in Fu par. 0007.
Regarding claim 3, The method of claim 1,
Kafle further discloses, wherein the signal indicating the requested user device connection is received in response to a user input (Par. 0051, a user may launch, from the source device 500, a Wi-Fi Display (WFD) application for handling multimedia streaming to a group of sink devices, which may cause the source device 500 to announce (e.g., advertise) its service and group session capabilities to the sink devices 510A-510D).
Regarding claim 4, The method of claim 1,
Kafle further discloses, wherein the signal indicating the requested user device connection is received from the user device (Par. 0051, a user may launch, from the source device 500, a Wi-Fi Display (WFD) application for handling multimedia streaming to a group of sink devices, which may cause the source device 500 to announce (e.g., advertise) its service and group session capabilities to the sink devices 510A-510D, i.e. advertisement of service discovery comes from source device operated by user).
Regarding claim 5, The method of claim 1,
Kafle in view of Fu further discloses, wherein the computing system is designated as a central source, the method further comprising: receiving, by the computing system, one or more identifying messages indicating other active computing systems connected to the first network (Par. 0153, steps 1070 and 1071, the master sink 1010 (i.e. master sink acts are central source for other dependent sinks) may send an RTSP announcement to the dependent sinks 1020 (here, dependent sinks 1020A and 1020B). The announcement may include an invitation for the dependent sinks 1020 to join the group session or to join a request/response process, i.e. response from other sinks such as 1020A and 1020B, identifies that sinks are connected to wireless network or local LAN);
generating, by the computing system, a list comprising the other active computing systems connected to the first network (Par. 0011, Each relay UE maintains a list of neighbor UEs 30 it can reach and periodically broadcasts an announcement to indicate its availability for relaying communications. The announcement includes an indication (e.g., the reachable neighbor list) of other UEs 30 that the announcing UE can reach),
broadcasting, by the computing system, the list via the first network (Par. 0011, Each relay UE maintains a list of neighbor UEs 30 it can reach and periodically broadcasts an announcement to indicate its availability for relaying communications. The announcement includes an indication (e.g., the reachable neighbor list) of other UEs 30 that the announcing UE can reach).
Regarding claim 7, The method of claim 1,
Kafle further discloses, 7. further comprising:
connecting, by the computing system, to a user device (Par. 0148, the source 1000 and the master sink 1010 may complete a connection setup);
receiving, by the computing system and from the user device, data to be displayed (Par. 0049, the source device 400 may be a cellphone, and the sink group 405A may be used to transmit multicast video with 720p high-definition format video to the sink devices 410A and 410B, which may include, for example, an Ultra-HD (4K 2160p) or Full HD (1020p) DTV display capabilities of sink device 410A and an HD (720p) DTV Display capability in sink device 410B);
generating, by the computing system, an image based on the data received from the user device (Par. 0049, the source device 400 may be a cellphone, and the sink group 405A may be used to transmit multicast video with 720p high-definition format video to the sink devices 410A and 410B, which may include, for example, an Ultra-HD (4K 2160p) or Full HD (1020p) DTV display capabilities of sink device 410A and an HD (720p) DTV Display capability in sink device 410B)); and
causing, by the computing device, the image to be displayed (Par. 0049, Fig. 4 the source device 400 may be a cellphone, and the sink group 405A may be used to transmit multicast video with 720p high-definition format video to the sink devices 410A and 410B, which may include, for example, an Ultra-HD (4K 2160p) or Full HD (1020p) DTV display capabilities of sink device 410A and an HD (720p) DTV Display capability in sink device 410B).
Regarding claims 9, Kafle in view of Fu meets the claim limitations as set forth in claim 1, respectively, Kafle further discloses, one or more processors (Par. 0005); and
a computer-readable memory comprising instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the system to perform operations to: (Par. 0008).
Regarding claim 10, Kafle meets the claim limitations as set forth in claim 7.
Regarding claim 19, Kafle in view of Fu meets the claim limitations as set forth in claim 5.
Claims 2 and 6 are rejected under U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kafle et al. (US 20150172757), Fu et al. (US 20230354144), in further view of Aiba (US 20190089672).
Regarding claim 2. The method of claim 1,
Kafle in view of Fu does not disclose, wherein the mode is enabled according to a default setting, the method further comprising:
receiving, by the computing system, instructions that when executed by the computing system, cause the computing system to be reconfigured such that the computing system is configured to transmit an identification message to the computing device according to the default setting.
Aiba discloses, wherein the mode is enabled according to a default setting, the method further comprising: receiving, by the computing system, instructions that when executed by the computing system, cause the computing system to be reconfigured such that the computing system is configured to transmit an identification message to the computing device according to the default setting (Par. 0122, if the sub controller 200 receives an mDNS query packet (i.e. instruction) in the sleep mode, and if the mDNS query is a service discovery query and the service described in the mDNS query is not registered in the unsupported service database 240, the main controller 100 recovers from the sleep mode to start the normal mode, and the main controller 100 responds to the mDNS query, i.e. instruction in form of mDNS query causes device to go back to non-sleep mode (i.e. default settings) to transmit response (i.e. response includes identification of device).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify Kafle in view of Fu by teaching of receiving, by the computing system, instructions that when executed by the computing system, cause the computing system to be reconfigured such that the computing system is configured to transmit an identification message to the computing device according to the default setting, as taught by Aiba, to save energy of information processing to recover the system as necessary in default setting of responding to discovery query, as disclosed in Aiba par. 0004-0005.
Regarding claims 6. The method of claim 1,
Kafle in view of Fu does not disclose, wherein the computing system operates according to a multicast domain name system (mDNS).
Aiba discloses, wherein the computing system operates according to a multicast domain name system (mDNS) (Par. 0041, A query-sender device multicasts an mDNS service discovery query to a plurality of devices connected to a network. A device receives the mDNS service discovery query, determines that the device should respond to the query, then generates a response packet, and sends the response packet to the query-sender device).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify Kafle in view of Fu by teaching of wherein the computing system operates according to a multicast domain name system (mDNS), as taught by Aiba, mDNS query provides advantage of discovering and connect to services and other devices on a network without manual setup or configuration.
Claims 8, 15, 17, and 18 are rejected under U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kafle et al. (US 20150172757), Fu et al. (US 20230354144), in further view of Jung et al. (US 20160150465).
Regarding claim 8, The method of claim 1,
Kafle in view of Fu does not disclose, wherein the signal is received from a second computing device, and the computing system transmits the identification messages for a predetermined time period.
Jung discloses, wherein the signal is received from a second computing device, and the computing system transmits the identification messages for a predetermined time period (Par. 0159, the electronic device broadcasts signals (e.g., discovery beacons) for supporting the discovery of other electronic devices according to a certain period (e.g., 100 ms). In addition, the electronic device may scan in the section of a constant time length (e.g., 110 to 120 ms) every certain periods (e.g., about 10 seconds) to receive signals (e.g., discovery beacons) broadcast by the other electronic devices, If at least one of the other electronic devices is detected, the cluster may be configured. The electronic device may exchange synchronization beacons and service data frames with the other electronic devices in the cluster through the DW, i.e. signal is received from another computer device in cluster, discovery beacon (i.e. transmitting identification message) is transmitted for certain predetermine duration such as time length of 110 to 120 ms every, repeating every 10 second ).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify Kafle in view of Fu by teaching the signal is received from a second computing device, and the computing system transmits the identification messages for a predetermined time period, as taught by Jung, transmitting discovery signal for predetermined or limited duration saves power consumption in performing discovery operation, as disclosed in par. 0007 and 0016.
Regarding claim 15. The system of claim 9,
Kafle in view of Fu does not disclose, wherein the system comprises an internet of things (IoT) device.
Jung discloses, wherein the system comprises an internet of things (IoT) device (Par. 0054, electronic devices can be internet of things (IoT)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify Kafle in view of Fu by teaching of the system comprises an internet of things (IoT), as taught by Jung, to discover proximity based group of devices to exchange information including IoT devices like lamp, various sensors, an electric or gas meter, a sprinkler, a fire alarm, a thermostat, a streetlamp, a toaster, an exercising machine, a hot water tank, a heater, a boiler, etc, as disclosed in Jung par. 0008 and 0054.
Regarding claim 17, Kafle in view of Fu in view of Jung meets the claim limitations as set forth in claim 8.
Regarding claim 18. The system of claim 9,
Kafle in view of Fu does not disclose, wherein the system comprises a sensor and the signal is received from the sensor.
Jung discloses, wherein the system comprises a sensor and the signal is received from the sensor (Par. 0054, electronic devices can be internet of things IoT) (for example, a lamp, various sensors, an electric or gas meter, a sprinkler, a fire alarm, a thermostat, a streetlamp, a toaster, an exercising machine, a hot water tank, a heater, a boiler, etc.)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify Kafle in view of Fu by teaching of the system comprises a sensor and the signal is received from the sensor, as taught by Jung, to discover proximity based group of devices to exchange information including IoT devices like lamp, various sensors, etc, as disclosed in Jung par. 0008 and 0054.
Claims 11-13 are rejected under U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kafle et al. (US 20150172757), Fu et al. (US 20230354144), in further view of Dvir et al. (US 20150365457).
Regarding claim 11, The system of claim 9,
Kafle in view of Fu does not disclose, wherein the system is connected to the one or more other active systems via the first network and is connected to a second computing device via a second network.
Dvir discloses, wherein the system is connected to the one or more other active systems via the first network and is connected to a second computing device via a second network (Par. 0023, fig. 1, A public network 102 such as the Internet can connect separate local networks 105a-b such that devices 110a-e can communicate between the local networks 105a-b in addition to within their respective local networks 105a-b, i.e. system is connected to devices 1101-b via first network 105a and system is connected to devices 110c-110e located on network 105b via VPN).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify Kafle in view of Fu by teaching of the system is connected to the one or more other active systems via the first network and is connected to a second computing device via a second network, as taught by Dvir, to extend a discovery range of a streaming service beyond a local network. For example, devices on different local multicast networks can discover services on the other network., as disclosed in Dvir par. 0010.
Regarding claim 12, The system of claim 11,
Kafle in view of Fu in further view of Dvir further discloses, wherein the system transmits an internet protocol multicast to the one or more other active systems via the first network (Kafle Par. 0034, systems and methods that allow a first device, referred to herein as a source, to deliver multimedia content to one or more second devices, referred to herein as sinks, ach device is capable of communicating wirelessly according to one or more of the IEEE 802.11 families of wireless communication protocols, which may be referred to herein as "Wi-Fi." Par. 0047, stream transmission via multicast).
Regarding claim 13, The system of claim 11,
Kafle in view of Fu in further view of Dvir discloses, wherein the system connects to a user device via a third network (Dvir par. 0042, the viewee device 602 sends stream data through the VPN tunnel to the viewer device 608, i.e. system connects user device via internet VPN tunnel or third network different from network 105a-b).
Claim 14 is rejected under U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kafle et al. (US 20150172757), in view of Fu et al. (US 20230354144), in further view of Kafle et al. (US 20170006117), hereinafter as Kafle2.
Regarding claim 14. The system of claim 9,
Kafle in view of Fu does not disclose, wherein the system comprises a set top box connected to a television (Par. 0143, a television (TV), acting as a sink device, and a set top box, acting as a source device, may be connected in a home to a home AP).
Kafle2 discloses, wherein the system comprises a set top box connected to a television (Par. 0143, a television (TV), acting as a sink device, and a set top box, acting as a source device, may be connected in a home to a home AP).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify Kafle in view of Fu by teaching of the system comprises a set top box connected to a television, as taught by Kafle2, to stream media device from source device such as set top box to TV, as disclosed in Kafle2 par. 0004.
Claim 16 is rejected under U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kafle et al. (US 20150172757), in view of Fu et al. (US 20230354144), in further view of Heikkinen et al. (US 20240333545).
Regarding claim 16. The system of claim 9,
Kafle in view of Fu does not disclose, wherein the signal is received from a remote control associated with the system.
Heikkinen discloses, wherein the signal is received from a remote control associated with the system (Par. 0153, user device 1018A receives a user input 1004 at input circuitry 1016. For example, user device 1018 may receive a user input like a user swipe or user touch. In some embodiments, user device 1018A is a media device (or player), with the capability to access media content. User input 1004 may be received from a user selection-capturing interface that is separate from device 1018, such as a remote-control device, trackpad, or any other suitable user movement sensitive or capture devices, or as part of device 1018).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify Kafle in view of Fu by teaching of the signal is received from a remote control associated with the system, as taught by Heikkinen, to receive user input to transmit user signal from user device, as disclosed in Heikkinen par. 00153.
Claim 20 is rejected under U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kafle et al. (US 20150172757), in view of Kloberdans et al. (US 20160006822), in further view of in view of Fu et al. (US 20230354144).
Regarding claim 20, Kafle discloses, a set top box (Par. 0002, Sink can be a television, Par. 0049, fig. 4, the source device 400 may be a cellphone, the sink devices 410A and 410B, which may include, an Ultra-HD (4K 2160p) or Full HD (1020p) DTV display capabilities of sink device 410A and an HD (720p) DTV Display capability in sink device 410B, Applicant’s specification par. 0045 recites, a set top box 402 for receiving data from a user device 406 and displaying images on a television 404, the set top box 402 may be integrated with the television 404. Therefore, Kafle’s sink device being television receiving content from source device for displaying teaches a set-top box being built in to television device ), comprising: a casting module configured to receive data from a user device and display an image on a display connected to the set top box(Par. 0049, the source device 400 may be a cellphone, and the sink group 405A may be used to transmit multicast video with 720p high-definition format video to the sink devices 410A and 410B, which may include, for example, an Ultra-HD (4K 2160p) or Full HD (1020p) DTV display capabilities of sink device 410A and an HD (720p) DTV Display capability in sink device 410B); a communications module configured to communicate with one or more other set top boxes (Par. 0152, the master sink 1010 may exchange discovery information with the dependent sink 1020A (as in step 1068) and then exchange discovery information with the dependent sink 1020B (as in step 1069). During this time, the master sink 1010 may also establish coupling to the group of dependent sinks and/or gather information about them); a processor; and a computer-readable memory comprising instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the set top box to perform (Par. 0008) operations to:
receive a signal indicating a requested user device connection, the signal received via a first network (Par. 0146-0149, fig. 10A, Source 1000 (i.e. a user device) and master sink (i.e. a computing system) connection setup is completed, par. 0032, discloses communication over Wi-Fi or wireless LAN);
in response to the signal indicating the potential user device connection: enable a mode characterized by (Par. 0151-0152, source 100 and master sink temporarily stop communication and proceed to step 1068, At steps 1068 and 1069, the master sink 1010 may initiate a continuing discovery phase with dependent sinks 1020 (in this example, with a dependent sink 1020A and a dependent sink 1020B), i.e. after connection setup request is completed from source device, master goes in to next mode of discovery phase):
generate an identification message comprising a status of the computing system, an identifier of the computing system, and a request for a list of other active computing systems connected to the first network (Par. 0152, At steps 1068 and 1069, the master sink 1010 may initiate a continuing discovery phase with dependent sinks 1020 (in this example, with a dependent sink 1020A and a dependent sink 1020B), i.e. sending discovery message = requesting a list device from network that are active on network to send reply. Discovery information exchanged during the discovery phase may include group session management information and device capability information, i.e. message that to be sent as discovery message to other sinks or devices includes, device capabilities (i.e. a status of the computing system such multimedia codec, a multimedia format, a minimum latency or buffer capability, or supported multicast mechanisms, par. 0084) master sink 1010 may send group invitation messages to the dependent sinks 1020 via service discovery. The group invitation messages may include the multimedia format used for the multimedia streaming in the current Wi-Fi Display group session. The group invitation messages may also include the IP address and port number (i.e. identifier) for the RTP/UDP packets that the sink devices may receive from the source 1000. The exchange of information during the continuing discovery phase may occur one sink at a time, for example, the master sink 1010 may exchange discovery information with the dependent sink 1020A (as in step 1068) and then exchange discovery information with the dependent sink 1020B);
transmit the identification message to a computing device connected to the first network (Par. 0152, At steps 1068 and 1069, the master sink 1010 may initiate a continuing discovery phase with dependent sinks 1020 (in this example, with a dependent sink 1020A and a dependent sink 1020B). Discovery information exchanged during the discovery phase may include group session management information and device capability information, i.e. message that to be sent as discovery message to other sinks or devices includes, device capabilities (i.e. a status of the computing system) master sink 1010 may send group invitation messages to the dependent sinks 1020 via service discovery); and
receive the list of the other active computing systems connected to the first network (Par. 0153, steps 1070 and 1071, the master sink 1010 may send an RTSP announcement to the dependent sinks 1020 (here, dependent sinks 1020A and 1020B). The announcement may include an invitation for the dependent sinks 1020 to join the group session or to join a request/response process, i.e. response from other sinks such as 1020A and 1020B, makes the list of other devices that are connected to network that joins group by response).
Kafle does not disclose, A set top box comprising a communications module configured to communicate with one or more other set top boxes using a multicast domain name system (mDNS) protocol;
the computing device configured as a central source comprising a list of other active computing systems connected to the first network; and
receiving, by the computing system and from the computing device, the list of the other active computing systems connected to the first network.
Kloberdans discloses, a set top box comprising a communications module configured to communicate with one or more other set top boxes using a multicast domain name system (mDNS) protocol (Par. 0020, The first and second devices 26, 28 being any type of device have capabilities consistent with the operations contemplated herein, including but not limited to mobile phone, tablets (second screen device), set-top boxes (STBs), gateways, appliances, security systems, Par. 0021, an mDNS query message transmitted from the first device 26 over the first link 20. The first message may be multicasted over the first link 20 to all connected devices and/or unicast to the CER 16 or other device to determine the presence of other connected devices, to announce services and/or to perform any number of other operations consistent with mDNS, par. 0023, responding device 28, i.e. set top device 26 and 28 communicate with each other using mDNS protocol).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify Kafle by teaching of the signal is received from a remote control associated with the system, as taught by Kloberdans, multicast DNS (mDNS) names are that (i) they require little or no administration or configuration to set them up, (ii) they work when no infrastructure is present, and (iii) they work during infrastructure failures, facilitating service discovery and other operations using mDNS, protocols within a multi-link network so as to facilitate service discovery and other operations across an entirety of the multi-link network.as disclosed in Kloberdans par. 0004-0005.
Kafle in view of Kloberdans does not disclose, the computing device configured as a central source comprising a list of other active computing systems connected to the first network; and
receive, from the computing device the list of the other active computing systems connected to the first network.
Fu discloses, the computing device configured as a central source comprising a list of other active computing systems connected to the first network (Par. 0011, Each relay UE maintains a list of neighbor UEs 30 it can reach and periodically broadcasts an announcement to indicate its availability for relaying communications. The announcement includes an indication (e.g., the reachable neighbor list) of other UEs 30 that the announcing UE can reach. When a UE within reach of the relay UE receives the broadcast announcement, it can decide whether it wants to use the relay UE to relay D2D communications. If so, the receiving UE stores a copy of the reachable neighbor list for the relay in its local memory and sends a relay request to the relay UE. i.e. relay UE being central source that maintains list of other active UEs on network. Par. 0062, fig.1, plurality of UEs (i.e. computing system) are connected to core network); and
receive, from the computing device the list of the other active computing systems connected to the first network (Par. 0011, Each relay UE maintains a list of neighbor UEs 30 it can reach and periodically broadcasts an announcement to indicate its availability for relaying communications. The announcement includes an indication (e.g., the reachable neighbor list) of other UEs 30 that the announcing UE can reach. When a UE within reach of the relay UE receives the broadcast announcement, it can decide whether it wants to use the relay UE to relay D2D communications. If so, the receiving UE stores a copy of the reachable neighbor list for the relay in its local memory and sends a relay request to the relay UE. i.e. relay UE being central source that broadcast the list of other UEs on network to other UEs, UE (i.e. computing system) receives list of other UEs from relay UE that all UE are connected to network as shown fig. 1).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify Kafle in view of Kloberdans by teaching of the computing device configured as a central source comprising a list of other active computing systems connected to the first network and receiving, by the computing system and from the computing device, the list of the other active computing systems connected to the first network, as taught by Fu, for other computing device on network to use the received list of remote devices on network without need to initiate discovery of other devices, as disclosed in Fu par. 0007.
Claim 21 is rejected under U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kafle et al. (US 20150172757), in view of Fu et al. (US 20230354144), in further view of Penukonda et al. (US 20240107434).
Regarding claim 21, the method of claim 1,
Kafle in view of Fu does not disclose, further comprising:
accessing, by the computing system, a hierarchy list comprising a central source order for computing systems connected to the first network;
in response to determining that the computing device configured as the central source has become unavailable:
designating a second computing device connected to the first network as a new central source according to the central source order; and
transmitting, by the computing system, subsequent identification messages to the second computing device designated as the new central source.
further comprising:
Penukonda discloses, accessing, by the computing system, a hierarchy list comprising a central source order for computing systems connected to the first network (Par. 0036, Device rankings may be updated and/or shared with other devices in a location, e.g., periodically and/or when a known device (bonded/cloud paired) enters/exits the location, i.e. other computing system on network has access to a ranked (i.e. hierarchal) list comprising a central source order);
in response to determining that the computing device configured as the central source has become unavailable (par. 0036, If the primary device exits/leave the location, another device may be designated as the primary. For example, if the device that is selected as the primary device becomes unavailable (such as exiting the location, being moved outside of the location, and/or being powered down), a secondary device, e.g., with the next highest ranking in the location, may be selected to be the new primary device (which may be the device with the highest ranking after the former primary device became unavailable)):
designating a second computing device connected to the first network as a new central source according to the central source order (par. 0036, If the primary device exits/leave the location, another device may be designated as the primary. For example, if the device that is selected as the primary device becomes unavailable (such as exiting the location, being moved outside of the location, and/or being powered down), a secondary device, e.g., with the next highest ranking in the location, may be selected to be the new primary device (which may be the device with the highest ranking after the former primary device became unavailable)); and
transmitting, by the computing system, subsequent identification messages to the second computing device designated as the new central source (Par. 0025, A central device regularly scans (active/passive) the medium for good channels for (re)connection establishment/data exchange. For example, the devices configured to operate in a central role in the system signaling arrangement 200 continue to perform channel scanning operations for identifying channels and/or determining channel conditions for connection establishment and/or reconnection establishment, and/or for data exchange, par. 0030, Once devices are connected, they may exchange with each other information regarding one or more capabilities using messages. The messages may be proprietary in some embodiments and standardized in others. The capabilities information may include indications such as Bluetooth processor/chip revision, battery powered (large/low capacity), wired connection (or persistently) powered, and/or user preference/setting information (e.g., battery power mode/game mode, etc.), i.e. information sent from other devices in data exchange with central device includes device capability identification).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify Kafle by teaching of the accessing by the computing system, a hierarchy list comprising a central source order for computing systems connected to the first network; in response to determining that the computing device configured as the central source has become unavailable: designating a second computing device connected to the first network as a new central source according to the central source order and transmitting, by the computing system, subsequent identification messages to the second computing device designated as the new central source, as taught by Penukonda, to provide ranked list of central devices based on capabilities of those devices in order to provide persistent operation of identifying other devices on network, as disclosed in Penukonda par. 0025 and 0036.
Conclusion
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/A.D./Examiner, Art Unit 2422
/JOHN W MILLER/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2422
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